Hindu villagers targeted and pressured for religious conversion by Christian evangelists under guise of Christmas programme
Lakhimpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
25 December, 2025
Case Summary
In the Rannupur village of Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, Hindu women were lured and targeted for conversion by two Christian evangelists named Ashok Kumar and Shail Kumari, under the guise of a Christmas event. According to reports, a religious programme organised by the Christian accused, Ashok Kumar and Shail Kumari, under the guise of a Christmas event. The programme was attended by around 40–50 Hindu women from Rannupur and neighbouring as well as distant villages. During the program, Hindu women were manipulated and encouraged to convert to Christianity. When members of the Sanatan Dharma Seva Samiti and other Hindu organisations received information about illegal conversion activities, they arrived at the site and staged a protest. Simultaneously, the police were also informed about the incident. Furthermore, a Hindu man named Jaswant Raj, a resident of Mudia Kheda village, submitted a written complaint stating that he had attended the same programme organised by the accused, Ashok Kumar and Shail Kumari, on an invitation. He revealed that he was pressured to change his religion, and when he refused, he was threatened by the accused. Acting on the complaint, Mitauli police station in-charge Inspector Mahesh Pathak arrived at the spot with police personnel, immediately stopped the programme, arrested both the accused and took them to the police station for questioning. The station in-charge stated that the programme appeared to be linked to Christmas celebrations and was being conducted without prior permission. He also confirmed that a detailed investigation had been initiated into the incident, including violations of the religious conversion law.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case had been added to the tracker under the primary category of: Predatory proselytisation. Under this, the sub-category selected is: Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation, or subtle indoctrination. Under this, the selected tertiary category is - Pattern of targeting Hindus. Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious grooming or brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such grooming or brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmitting religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinate victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. The other sub-category selected here is - Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. This case was added to the tracker because Hindu women in Rannupur village were lured and targeted for religious conversion by Christian evangelists under the guise of a Christmas-related religious programme. Firstly, what was projected as a Christmas event or devotional gathering was, in reality, a covert attempt at religious conversion. The organisers deliberately held the meeting in secrecy and without permission from the administration, indicating a deliberate and deceptive strategy designed to avoid public attention and scrutiny. By conducting such gatherings covertly, the Christian evangelists sought to manipulate vulnerable Hindu women, taking advantage of their emotional and social circumstances to push them towards conversion. Such tactics are designed to lower resistance by framing the setting as spiritual, benevolent or celebratory, while gradually manipulating them to abandon Hindu faith and convert to Christianity. Secondly, the Hindu man, Jaswant Raj, also revealed that he was pressured for religious conversion by the accused. Pressuring a Hindu individual to discard his religious faith and embrace another was a direct attack on his religious identity and dignity. It was not a matter of personal choice; it was coercion rooted in hostility towards the victim's Hindu identity. Such an attempt reflects religious animosity because the act is not simply about personal differences but about erasing the victim’s Hindu faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. Furthermore, when he refused to convert, he was threatened, demonstrating that the interaction was not based on free will or informed choice but on intimidation and compulsion. This escalation from persuasion to threats exposed the hostile intent behind the programme and confirmed that the objective was not interfaith dialogue or celebration, but religious subversion. The Christian faith, by its very theological foundations, places a strong emphasis on proselytisation. In pursuit of conversion objectives, Christian evangelists often employ unethical means, ranging from psychological pressure and misinformation to inducements such as money or jobs. In this case, the perpetrator's actions directly attacked the religious identity and dignity of Hindu villagers, particularly women, by seeking to erode their faith through deception and pressure. Such acts were deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims, and thus, this case was added to the tracker. Disclaimer - Media reports stated that around 40–50 women attended the programme. Additionally, one Hindu man, Jaswant Raj, formally submitted a complaint stating that he was pressured for religious conversion. Therefore, for documentation purposes, the victim count in this case has been recorded as 51, comprising 50 Hindu women attendees and 1 Hindu man complainant.
Victim Details
Total Victim
51
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 50
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 51
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 51
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
